Ever since he won the 2009 International Blues Challenge and the Albert King Guitarist of the Year award in Memphis, JP Soars has found a new audience.

Thanks to the award that crowns the best unsigned blues talent, Soars has taken his music beyond South Florida. The IBC, as known to most blues fans, gave Soars and his band, The Red Hots, free promotion and a slot on major music festivals across the United States.

Blues lovers were introduced to Soars' unique blend of roots music, gypsy jazz, Latin rhythms and traces of heavy metal — Soars counts Django Reinhardt and Machito as major influences. Accolades followed.

"Winning the IBC opened tons of doors and continues to do so," Soars, 42, said from his home in  Boca Raton. "It definitely propelled my career to another level."

The next level includes Soars' latest release "More Bees With Honey," a self-produced CD that has earned him, so far, a nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album of the Year from the Illinois-based, online Blues Blast Magazine and a spot on the "Pick to Click" favorites on BB King's Bluesville-Sirius XM Radio.